CBI arrests ex-ED official in bribery case

Lucknow, June 24: The CBI on Saturday arrested a senior officer, earlier working with the ED on deputation, on the charge of demanding Rs 50 lakh in bribe from an accused in the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, an official said.

The premier agency conducted a raid and arrested former Enforcement Directorate (ED) Assistant Director N.B. Singh, who was employed at the ED's Lucknow zone office, and his accomplice Subhash while receiving a Rs 4 lakh bribe from the complainant.

Singh was working in the ED on deputation and was handling certain NRHM-related cases.

"The seized money is a part payment of Rs 50 lakh that Singh and Subhash demanded from complainant Surendra Chaudhari," the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said.

They were demanding the money from Chaudhari to show leniency in the ongoing probe against him, the official said.

The official said Singh was relieved by the Enforcement Directorate on May 18 and repatriated to his parent cadre in the Central Excise and Customs Department, but he continued going to the office.

The CBI on Friday registered a case against both following a written complaint from Chaudhari, a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, who said the officer threatened him with the seizure of his movable and immovable properties if he did not pay the bribe.